To be puzzled and upset over holiday rental complaint

[violets17]

I rented a villa last month and a week after I had left I received an email from the villa owner's husband saying that I was the messiest renter they had had in 2 years and not to bother trying to rebook (which I hadn't). I emailed back asking for more details and he emailed back saying "it was a mess" with no further detail.

I've really racked my brains and asked my eldest son who was with me to help me remember everything. This is what I did/didn't do:

Positives
I took out all our rubbish and put it in the correct public bins
Emptied the fridge of our leftover food
Put most things back where they were (see negative list)
Didn't use BBQ therefore no mess
Roughly wiped down sides in kitchen
Checked all over for obvious spills/toothpaste etc

Possible Negatives
I didn't put all the towels in the bath because there wasn't instructions to do that so wasn't sure
Left dishwasher running with a few morning things
Replaced coffee I had used with half a jar I had bought, replaced sugar I had used with some sugar packets
Left a lilo (still working) by the pool for next guests
Left a half used bottle of laundry liquid in the laundry room
Left a brand new (unused) insulated cool bag on top of cool box

Negatives
Did not put clothes horse back in correct place
Did not put hairdryer back in drawer
Placed sofa throws on correct sofas but didn't fold them
Didn't wipe outside table (a bit tacky)
Didn't wipe glass coffee table (a bit tacky)
Didn't actually clean anything just looked for obvious toothpaste/spills/toilet stains and dealt with that - ie didn't sweep/mop/get out the cif

I then got a "guest rating" which only gives star ratings out of 5. They gave me the following

Overall experience - 1 star
Cleanliness - 1 star
Communication - 2 stars
Following house rules - 2 stars

I'm flummoxed - house rules were no smoking inside (I didn't), no house parties (of course not), no excessive noise (um - I don't even drink and had no music on).

Communication was ordinary until he emailed me to complain and I asked for details which he didn't give and neither of us communicated further.

This is about the 10th holiday villa I have rented and it has always been positive with owners asking me back and refunding my deposit immediately - luckily there was no deposit with this one.

I know I have given this too much thought but I honestly feel like I don't know what he was talking about. Why did he wait a whole week after I left to email me?

Sorry for long post - didn't want to drip drip

[starfishmummy]

I know its annoying but as there's no deposit to lose and they haven't tried to charge for extra cleaning then just ignore!!! Why on earth would you contact them for more details!!!

[ImPreCis]

Haven’t read the whole thread, so apologies if repeating what other posters have out, but I recommend taking photos of how you find the place and how you leave it. Difficult to argue with photographic evidence, particularly if there is a deposit involved.
Try not to let it spoil your holiday though.

[LeftRightCentre]

Hotel for next time! Or a resort type place. He sounds a bit dodgy.

[LeahJack]

I’ve had the same on Airbnb. One of the most frustrating things about it was that the facilities available for cleaning were so poor they couldn’t really have expected us to do a deep clean. There was no hoover and a broken brush, when we asked her for a different brush she gave us an outdoor one which would have ruined the floors if we’d used it. There was no washing machine but she complained we hadn’t left the sheets cleaned!

For some reason she was also irrationally angry that we ate baked beans during our stay too.

But it was similar to yours OP, if she’d been genuinely honest and said it was a bit grubby I could have understood, but she went the whole hog and gave a dishonest negative review making it appear like we’d had wild parties and trashed the place.

I don’t use these sites anymore precisely because if you stay in hotels you’re treated with a certain amount of respect and professionalism that these places lack.

A good tip is also to see if the holiday let allows reviews on sites other than the agent like TripAdvisor or Facebook. The woman I had a problem with had everything put the agent site locked down with no reviews which I’ve since discovered is a sneaky way of stopping guests leaving reviews to say they’ve done this. They don’t say anything while you’re there or offer you a chance to rectify, they don’t review until after the customer has left a review on the agent site which can’t be changed.

[Elphame]

Does seem very OTT. I don't expect my guests to do more than basically leave the place cleanish and tidy. If they wash the floors etc then my cleaners will be doing it again anyway.

[KnightofWands]

Most places we have rented have tended to need a damn good clean when we go there and there is usually an exorbitant "add on" fee for cleaning after you leave no matter what state it's left in. Based on your account, OP, I would look to challenge the rating you have been given as a guest and ask them to justify it or withdraw it.

[KnackeredMumofTwins]

We rented a villa in Spain once, we didn't use one bathroom and my MIL cleaned it probably more than I would have done. Met the handover woman who also did the cleaning she did a quick tour round all very happy. We then got an email from the owners who'd forwarded an email from the handover woman ranting about how messy the place was, how we'd let our kids run riot and this was what you get when you rent to the English over other nationalities. The owners asked for us to pay for more cleaning as well as other items that were allegedly damaged. Was totally baffled. My husband wrote back a strongly worded email and we never heard anymore about it. All very strange.

[Franzipanny11]

I don’t use these sites anymore precisely because if you stay in hotels you’re treated with a certain amount of respect and professionalism that these places lack.

LeahJak - that’s a wee bit unfair. If you select only Superhosts on Airbnb you won’t have any problems. I’ve cerainly stayed in hotels where the staff are a little terse and certainly don’t offer the personal interaction and support that I do.

Horses for courses........

[emilybella]

I have to say as an Airbnb host we see some horrific things but it doesn’t sound like you were a nightmare at all...we’ve had guests leave wee stained sheets all over the house and sodden mattresses. Stomach churning

[tobee]

It's horrible having this, isn't it? We stayed at one place (had toddlers at the time) where the owner did her inspection two days before the end of the holiday. Her English wasn't great and we thought she was going to inspect again at the end when I gone down on hands and knees and scrubbed the floor. She charged for an extra cleaning fee based on the earlier inspection.

[Passonthemessage]

The personal interaction is one of the things I dislike about Airbnb! I really don't want to speak to the host unless something goes wrong. I don't use it anymore as the reviews are overwhelmingly and unrealistically positive and don't reflect the reality of the property.

[GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER]

I'd have thought the charges include end of stay cleaning. I know the agency we've often rented from charges owners a hefty percentage for changeovers/cleaning.
I've never done a major clean, and never intend to. Just washing up done and put away, kitchen surfaces/washbasins wiped down, fridge emptied, floors swept for crumbs, etc., everything left tidy.

[HattieAndHerBoy]

Which I did with a cloth and water but still didn't get out the cif/mop/bucket.

OP to be honest I do a good clean of any holiday accommodation Ive rented and my airbnb rating is excellent so without meaning to be critical I think it was an oversight not to use Cif or the likes on the cupboards and I certainly would have cleaned the bathroom thoroughly.

I hope you can get it sorted.

[LeahJack]

that’s a wee bit unfair. If you select only Superhosts on Airbnb you won’t have any problems. I’ve cerainly stayed in hotels where the staff are a little terse and certainly don’t offer the personal interaction and support that I do.

No it’s not unfair and superhosts isn’t worth bothering with. It’s based on guest feedback and guest feedback is structured in such a way as it can be abused by people who do this sort of thing and still get superhost status.

Put it this way, the place we stayed in wasn’t perfect and we found the odd thing that shouldn’t have been there and bits of dust etc. But being decent, nice sorts of people and having hosts who seemed pleasant we thought it would be churlish to mark them down for things which didn’t hugely impact on our stay, so we gave them a nice review. And then they completely shafted us and lied in their review. But our good review still stood and would have been put towards ‘superhost’ status even though we were very unhappy with that being the case after they’d lied about us. Airbnb refused to change anything despite the fact that alongside the nasty review the host left, she also sent me a PM (which Airbnb could see) admitting a lot of stuff in the public review was untrue and just done out of spite.

And regardless of how terse or abrupt hotel staff might be, they won’t publicly publish a horrible, dishonest and borderline abusive account of your stay that you can’t dispute and will be displayed next to your name and place of work unless you delete your account.

Never, ever going near them again. The agent sites customers are the hosts, not the guests. They couldn’t really give two shits about guests.

[Passonthemessage]

OP to be honest I do a good clean of any holiday accommodation Ive rented and my airbnb rating is excellent so without meaning to be critical I think it was an oversight not to use Cif or the likes on the cupboards and I certainly would have cleaned the bathroom thoroughly. Nonsense! That is what you pay rental for! And if a holiday rental requires proper cleaning they should provide the option for a paid clean. We have never ever cleaned a holiday rental - we've left it tidy and that imo is enough - no one has ever complained and we have stayed in many places.

[chicola]

Yeah fuck that. Email and ask what's he on about as you've reported him to the site for lying.

[violets17]

Well - my 3 star review has finally been published on HA and I am glad. I said nice things about the villa and facilities but pointed out the traffic and noisy road and petrol station. I also said nice things about the efficient and pleasant interaction I had had with them prior to the email from him and the 1 star rating. I didn't mention the poor interaction afterwards in the review. I suppose because I feel embarrassed.

None of their photos showed the situation of the villa which I wouldn't have booked had I known/seen it.

I think after lots of reflection (too much!) I should have cleaned more BUT they should have made it clear what they expected of me. I did not leave it any worse than a bit grubby and ready to be cleaned which is what I expected them to be doing between 10am and 4pm.

And it should have said/I should have checked before booking what the cleaning expectation was. I would happily have paid extra for a cleaning fee. Which I suspected they still would have pocketed and done the cleaning themselves and still moaned. I would not have booked had I known that I was expected to do more than a cursory tidy and wipe but I would have paid a cleaning charge. As it wasn't separated out in the costings I assumed it was part of the £700 for one week (off peak).

In future I would also check google maps to see the exact location and view etc of a place rather than relying on the self published photos.

On the plus side I am glad my review was published as it lets people know that it's noisy and on a busy road. I would not have written about that if they hadn't moaned at me as I would never want to affect someone's business, however why shouldn't other travellers have that information.

A bit petty of me I guess but like I say - I wouldn't have booked had I seen the petrol station/busy road or any other reviews had mentioned it negatively. I think also subconsciously because I WAS annoyed and not at all rested due to noise etc and I knew I would never go back I didn't clean as much as I would normally.

[petrolpump28]

your conscience is clear...they are idiots.

[Tartyflette]

I've never really got the 'end-of-stay cleaning clause ' in some holiday rentals -- (France is particularly bad.)
After all, you're paying for a clean property on arrival in the rental fee and so is the next person who rents the place. If you're also expected to leave it in a perfect state it seems to me owners get paid twice for the same thing renters clean it for the next renters while owners continually pocket the fee (for a clean property) without actually having to do much if any cleaning.
If you're just meant to leave it reasonably clean and tidy, that's fine but if the owners expect that all they should have to do before the next guests arrive is change the beds and towels then I think that's unreasonable.
Hotels and B&Bs factor cleaning costs into their rates unless rooms are left needing actual repair/renovation. I don't see why vacation rental owners can't do likewise -- it would be much less headache all round.
One property we stayed in in France had laminated instructions for final cleaning taking up two sides of A4 while in another, the owner charged extra because although the property was really clean - mopped/swept/wiped/tidied - we had not polished the leather 3-piece suite with the special leather cleaner. Who thinks of doing that on holiday?
We were going to leave the owner a bottle of single malt because he'd been really nice and helpful up until then. DH clocked me giving the guy the extra 50 euros or whatever and took the bottle back as we left.

[violets17]

Tartyflette - polishing the leather suite?! that is just a cheek.

So many of you have worse stories than mine and I feel aggrieved on your behalves!!

Bad owners want the rental money without any of the bother.

It just confirms my decision not to use rental properties anymore. Also not small B&Bs or anything like that. I want to pay for a professional, courteous, impersonal service. Hotels are generally the cheaper option than rental properties anyway.

I may just buy a tent so no one can moan at me.

[Franzipanny11]

LeahJack - with all due respect, that’s simply not true. Neither the host nor the guest get to see reviews before they’re published so there’s no way anything can be manipulated. And to say hosts don’t give a shit is really unfair. I go out of my way to make the guests’ trip a good one. With hundreds of thousands of hosts throughout the world, Airbnb will obviously have a few bad apples but please don’t tarnish us all as uncaring Basil Fawlties.

Passonthemessage - why book a property with a company which explicitly brands itself as having hosts if you don’t want a host? I offer a facility for self check-in - perhaps you should check that’s available if you don’t like interaction.

[WhentheDealGoesDown]

It sounds awful, I knew there was a reason we bought a caravan for holidaying in the UK and we either go to hotels or stuff like Thomsons self catering abroad, I wouldn’t want to clean windows and sofas and all the cupboards on holiday and be rated for it.

[HattieAndHerBoy]

Nonsense! That is what you pay rental for! And if a holiday rental requires proper cleaning they should provide the option for a paid clean. We have never ever cleaned a holiday rental - we've left it tidy and that imo is enough - no one has ever complained and we have stayed in many places.

Great

[HattieAndHerBoy]

If you're also expected to leave it in a perfect state it seems to me owners get paid twice for the same thing

Personally I’m not bothered by that. All I’m concerned with is leaving the property in a condition that reflects well on me and that my self respect dictates.

[Passonthemessage]

why book a property with a company which explicitly brands itself as having hosts if you don’t want a host? I offer a facility for self check-in - perhaps you should check that’s available if you don’t like interaction. I want the property not the interaction with the host - I rarely see any value in spending time with them at the beginning. Last time the host went on holidays and sent someone who didn't speak English and this person stayed for well over an hour explaining to us how the house worked in a language I don't speak, it was pointless. And then there was the weird hotel owner who insisted we sat with him while he told us where we were allowed to eat and where we should go...hosts add very little to our holiday, we have google and after a long journey, we just want to be left alone! I do appreciate a key box.